


All your shadows are beautiful

by Tasers_and_Mischief



Series: Soulmate Playlist [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, BAMF Darcy Lewis, BAMF Jane Foster (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Clint Barton Needs a Hug, Established Relationship, Everyone's a BAMF in this fandom, F/M, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Partially Follows Canon Events, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Yes that's a necessary tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-27
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:01:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28352871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tasers_and_Mischief/pseuds/Tasers_and_Mischief
Summary: What was once a bad idea, has turned into a perfect future. Darcy'sspecialnow. The Avengers have been mostly welcoming. Hopefully that holds?
Relationships: Clint Barton/Natasha Romanov, Darcy Lewis & Thor, Darcy Lewis & Tony Stark, Darcy Lewis/Loki, Jane Foster & Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster/Thor, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: Soulmate Playlist [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1383295
Comments: 16
Kudos: 87





	1. Show me the skeletons in your closet

**Author's Note:**

> All chapter titles, and the fic title, are song lyrics from the band New Years Day. Their stuff is very angsty. You have been warned.

The celebration didn’t last long. Darcy knew the Avengers wouldn’t be all that content, having Loki in their midst, while they were vulnerable. And there was the matter of Erik. Riding the high of convincing Odin, of all people, _without spewing a single word of insult his way_ , she started to speak. “Allfather, I wou—”

“My patience is not infinite, Darcy of Midgard.” His words resounded across the space, condescending at best. “Take your victory and leave it at that.”

“Right, okay. Time to go?” She turned to Loki, taking his hand.

“Time to go.”

Gleeful, the soulmates ran from the palace, down the Bifrost Bridge, and took a running leap into their new life.

* * *

_ Six Months Later _

* * *

“More pancakes, Tony?” Darcy asked, turning from the stove in the Avengers’ communal kitchen with a plate stacked twelve high.

“How can I say no?”

It hadn’t been an easy transition for the Avengers, adjusting to not only Thor living in the Tower on a permanent basis, but Darcy, Jane, and yes, even Loki. Darcy and Loki were a package deal now, after all. Clint still preferred to be wherever Loki wasn’t, but the others had warmed up to him on some level. Tony and Loki got along like fire hoses — tough to control but helpful in many ways. Steve sort of looked at Loki weird at first, before Darcy _got_ it. _“He sees his best friend’s possible future in you,”_ she’d told Loki after figuring it out.

Darcy’d picked up the ancient art of cloth-weaving, also known as one of Frigga’s best talents, and then realized that her own talent with _knitting_ would help her make sense of the visions. Three months in and every Avenger had a new scarf and hat set. Even the ones who hadn’t fully signed on yet.

Sam Wilson was a regular visitor, but there were _others_. People whose faces she couldn’t quite see, but she could feel their pull on the weave. The future of the Avengers would be complex and strange. The only clear thing was that one of them was a telekinetic, not that she knew who that was going to be.

Darcy piled another three pancakes onto Tony’s plate, before setting the remainder in the warmer. “JARVIS, tell Clint his pancakes are ready and warm for when he wants them,” she said smoothly, stepping back and pulling off her pinup Maleficent apron to loop the neck about the hook on the pantry door.

“ _Of course, Miss Lewis,”_ the AI responded.

“So what’s on the agenda today, Tony?”

“We have a briefing session on a possible HYDRA base in Sokovia, late afternoon,” he replied. “I’ve already sent you the packet; we want you and Loki on site.”  
“Cool.” It would be their first _actual_ mission with the Avengers. They’d mostly spent the last six months training for missions — cooperativeness, mostly, while testing what they could do. Sokovia, however, set off alarm bells in the back of Darcy’s mind. The tethers of time faded for a moment, and she could see two faces — just for a moment, but long enough to know that they were involved.

And she had no idea what they were capable of, other than that they were _definitely_ destined to be Avengers.

Her visions had a habit of being muddied about people she didn’t know, and at least two of her knitting sets had been very confused. The blanket she’d made had ended up with a mess in the pattern that...kind of coincided with now.

Great.

* * *

“The base is on a mountainside, surrounded by woodlands,” Natasha began, bringing up a 3D model in all blue of the location. “We have reason to believe they’re holding the Scepter.”

Loki and Darcy shared a look, before Darcy let out a sigh. “No _wonder_ foresight’s been fucked up around this week ever since I got the damn power,” she blurted out, before sparing a look at Boy Scout Steve Rogers for a split second.

“What does that mean?” Steve asked.

“The Scepter contains an Infinity Stone. Mind, if I’m not mistaken. Meaning, after the incident in London, we now know the _rough_ location of three of them. Which isn’t great.” Darcy huffed, sketching a loose design on the note paper in front of her. “They’re all sentient on some level, but Mind…everything I know, from both Frigga’s preexisting knowledge and the books she left on hand, it’s supposed to be the most coherent. And if my guess is right, it’s _pissed_ about spending the last decade or so in the Scepter. Whatever HYDRA’s been doing with it, they’ve probably made the situation worse.”

Natasha paced around the table, planting her hands at the open space of the conference table between Darcy and Thor. “What does that mean for us?”

“A couple things. Infinity Stones can unlock power in people sometimes, under duress, so keep an eye out for Enhanced individuals. They are more likely to kill, but sometimes they sort of resonate with a person. That reminds me,” she leaned past Natasha, looking Thor square in the eye, “we need to keep an eye on Jane, she might start manifesting powers. Anyway, the other thing is, it’s not really a good idea to handle the Scepter bare-handed if you’re not planning on using it. Loki?”

“Yes, she’s correct. Handling the Scepter with bare palms — fingers matter little in this situation, I am unsure why — renders you surprisingly susceptible to the Stone’s influence.” As Tony appeared about to speak up, he added “I would have told you, if you’d asked.”

“You were under its control,” Natasha stated.

“I was.”

“Can we trust you with it?”

Darcy sat back, conjuring a small knife from astral space and twisting it between her fingers. She was about to speak when Loki laid his hand on her arm. “If I could not be trusted, I would have already asked to stay behind,” he said.

“Forgive me for withholding judgment on that.”

It was the first time Clint had spoken in Loki’s presence (knowingly, at least) since New York. Everyone turned to stare at the archer for a moment, before settling back in. He was there. In the same room.

Progress.

“We hit them tonight,” Steve ordered. “Everyone gear up. You’ve got half an hour ‘til we’re in the air.”

Darcy and Loki waited for everyone else to depart before finally standing, lacing their fingers together naturally as they walked. “I have something for you,” he murmured. “Our apartment?”

“Yes, please,” Darcy purred, turning to fling her free arm about his shoulders so that he could take them instantly to their apartment.

There wasn’t much in the way of personal touches in the intensely modern, high tech apartment that Tony had given them. It wasn’t as beautifully appointed as the Royal Suite at the Savoy, or as bedecked in gold as Loki’s chambers in Asgard were (Darcy had still not visited, though she _had_ seen an illusion), but it served its purpose nicely. He’d brought them directly to the bedroom — the half of the apartment that _didn’t_ have any cameras. Still had microphones, though, for JARVIS’s purposes. Something that hadn’t been there that morning was laid across the bed.

It was all leather, with intricate impressed knot-work lacing across every surface. From a basket-weave on the bracers with golden lightning bolts piercing into the weave, to an accurate, finely-lined Yggdrasil across the bodice, emphasized in points with inlaid gold. “Did you make this?” Darcy asked, picking up one of the bracers.

“Stag leather, with gilt _uru_ detail and forming,” he replied, tapping a golden branch of the tree-pattern. “I’ve enchanted the _uru_ personally, though I had a little help in forging it.”

“Did you go to Nidavellir?”

“Brokk owed me a favor; one he bet in a game of cards.” The pair laughed for a moment, before Loki’s expression turned serious. “May I dress you for battle?”

 _Well_ , this was a development. Darcy’d never worn armor like _this_ , nor had Loki shown any indication that he was having something like this made. So the fact that he seemed so intense about dressing her in it was…new. Special. “Sure. Uh…what should I wear under it?”

Loki waved a hand — Darcy’s Def Leppard tee and jeans disappeared (she knew that he was only putting them in the dresser, where she preferred to keep her casual clothes), replaced with a linen shirt and pants. “Linen is the best choice,” he said softly, taking up the softer black leather piece and tugging it over her torso like a reverse jacket. “It adds an extra layer of protection, and adds a layer of comfort.”

“What are the enchantments?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder as he laced together the leather undershirt.

“A mild dampener on your power of foresight, to prevent you from freezing on the battlefield,” he murmured. “Enhanced reaction time. Improved perception. And most importantly, a bulletproof shielding that extends even where the _uru_ does not. Though there are threads of it finely spun through the stitching on the soft pieces.” He picked up the pants, helping her step into the material carefully.

“So Aesir aren’t bulletproof?”

“Not naturally. Thor is especially resilient to bullets, but aim well, when he isn’t paying attention, and you can injure him greatly. My resistance to Midgardian weapons is much the same, but I augment it with enchantments.” As he tied the lace of her pants, he shifted his own casual clothing into his simpler leather Asgardian armor. “Each piece of metal is enchanted.” With the lace tied, he tapped the circular collar of his armor. “This deflects the bullets.”

“Cool. I’ve never worn a corset.”

“Don’t worry.” Loki lifted the dense piece of dark brown leather from the bed. There was more material there than expected for an ordinary corset — something like a set of tails, trailing from the back. “I don’t lace them tightly. Arms up, please.”

Darcy did as instructed, and Loki secured the hidden busks down her chest, before stepping behind her to begin the process of lacing. With a gesture Darcy didn’t see, Loki had her hair pulled up tight in a jaw clip. “Whoa!”

“It’s only for a moment.”

And yes, a moment later, the jaw clip was gone, corset laced snugly but not tightly in place. Bracers went into position next, followed by boots with built in shin guards. “I...feel like a warrior,” she admitted, fidgeting with her right bracer with her left hand. “How do I look?”

Loki smiled, before stepping to her side and leading her to the nearby mirror. “Like a warrior,” he muttered, nudging a kiss to the shell of her ear as she stared at her figure.

“I have coat tails.”

He laughed. “Yes, you do. I felt it only right that your silhouette incorporate a touch of mine.”

“I love it.”

“Good. And now, to test it on the battlefield. Come, love. We had best be to the jet before the others, so you may show off your new set of armor.”


	2. My dark side becomes divine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy and Loki's first ever mission on the ground goes...bizarrely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to write combat. Reviews of my combat are _heavily_ requested.

Loki was right. She did want to show off the armor. The appreciative looks she got from Tony and Steve were certainly the sort of thing to make her smile, even as she lounged in her chosen seat aboard the Quinjet, flipping a dagger in midair. The wait for the rest of the team didn’t last all that long. Natasha, Thor, Clint, and Bruce found places to settle, and they were off.

Darcy ended up wedged between Thor and Loki. It wasn’t uncomfortable — she could rest her head on Loki’s shoulder, her arm around behind him as his was behind hers — but it was a little awkward. Especially when Thor tapped the bolts on her bracers with his index finger.

“Lady Darcy,” he inquired, “where did you acquire _uru_ metal?”

“Brokk owed me a debt,” Loki responded. “You know the man loves to gamble. He worked the metal into thin strips and strands; I took those pieces and worked them into the leather.”

Thor chuckled. “I do always forget you enjoy craft-work.”

“It looks nice,” Natasha interjected. “Beautiful and functional.”

“And enchanted,” Darcy added, nuzzling her cheek into Loki’s shoulder. “I have the best soulmate.”

* * *

“JARVIS, what’s the view from upstairs?”

The battle was going a bit long. Darcy and Loki were fighting side by side, cutting down any HYDRA soldiers that came near them. A thrust here, a roll and slice there, a stab through the kidney slicing up into the diaphragm this way — a year ago, Darcy would never believe she’d kind of enjoy fighting. The Taser was just a form of self defense. Now?

Now she had swords and daggers and a Stark Technologies high-voltage Taser that could actually take a fully powered Thor down (not that she intended to try), and the muscle memory to protect people.

“ _The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield. Strucker's technology is well beyond any other HYDRA base we've taken.”_ The AI’s reply had Darcy and Loki pausing to draw their blades loose from the soldiers they had taken.

“The Scepter must be here,” Loki stated. Oh, comms were nice to have in a fight, would’ve been _so_ much easier than, oh, _holding onto a cell phone while running through a battle_. But Darcy knew the Scepter would be here. It wasn’t as if she were having _new_ visions — but prior things were clarifying, crystallizing in her mind. They were close. The Scepter was close.

“At long last.” Thor’s rumbling voice was a little static-y through the devices — no doubt due to the insulation that was necessary to keep the lighting-wielding thunder god from exploding it on accident.

Moving in concert, Loki and Darcy dashed across the battlefield. Darcy held her own, her new armor’s reinforcement of  _uru_ metal protecting her from the energy blasting weapons. Somehow. She didn’t understand it, not yet, but she didn’t doubt Loki would explain it. Each time one of them chose to shoot at her, they found Loki before them, driving his daggers through the soft flesh of their chins. Each time someone tried to shoot Loki, they found Darcy inches from their faces, thrusting her sword through their chests with ease.

“At long last is lasting a little long,” Natasha grumbled over the comms.

“Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Darcy said plainly, drawing her blade from a corpse and flicking the blood from its surface. “We make our way through, get the Scepter, get their data, and get out.”

T he battle raged on. The base was taking heavy losses, an incredible feat for a team of eight taking on what was basically an army. Then something blurred across Darcy’s line of sight, too fast for even Asgardian perception to properly capture. Her free hand snapped out, catching Loki by the shoulder. “You saw that, right?”

“Yes.” Emerald eyes found her blue, searching. “You know who we’re dealing with.”

“Finally,” she sighed, before brushing her hand over the comm device in her ear. “Everyone, please be advised, there are two Enhanced individuals on the field. One is extremely fast, the other a telekinetic. Do not harm them; they are future Avengers.”

“What?!” four voices chorused across the communication line.

“Foresight,” Darcy laughed. “It’s a blessing and a curse. All parties have a long way to go before they’ll join us, but they will. I repeat, do _not_ harm them.”

“They hurt us, I sure as hell will harm them,” Clint rumbled. “But I won’t _kill_ ‘em.”

“Thank you, Hawkeye.”

“You’re welcome, seer. And thanks for the pan — oof!”

“Shit.” Darcy took off running, following the path she knew would lead her to the archer. Not far behind was Loki, throwing knives at the ready. “Natasha!”

Red hair flew as the super spy’s head snapped up, meeting Darcy’s gaze. “What?”

“Three…two…”

And Clint  grunted — the sound audible over comms, as was the sound of him hitting the ground. Again.

“Clint!”

Both women dashed over the battlefield, coming to a stop beside the injured archer, while Loki threw a ball of magic at the bunker that had done the damage, exploding it into bits. “I’ve got this,” Darcy muttered, “we won’t need all of us to evac but he will need to rest.” She conjured a familiar leather bag, full of healing stones.  _This injury isn’t nearly as bad,_ she thought, as she clenched her fist around the stone and it crumbled in her grip. Easily, she blew the contents across the injury, watching as the burned flesh began to knit itself over. “Clint, are you okay with Loki carrying you to the Quinjet? He’s faster and more confident than I am.”

“Whatever.”

_Progress!_

“I will ensure he reaches the jet safely,” Loki murmured, pressing a kiss behind Darcy’s non-comms ear before lifting the injured-but-healing archer and taking off on foot.

“Tony, what’s the word on getting into the base?” Darcy asked.

“ I’m closing in.” Darcy had no idea how accurate that statement was, but she had a hunch it was thoroughly true.

“Keep us posted. Clint’s out of the fight.”

Less than a minute later, Tony Stark’s arrogant voice sounded across the comms. “Drawbridge is down, people.”

“Awesome!”

“ _You are not going in without me.”_ Loki’s voice sounded like he was right by her ear, whispering against her skin. Darcy jumped, spinning around — only to see that Loki wasn’t there. _“A feature of your mantle,”_ his voice continued. _“The ravens’ beak is woven with_ uru _, to function as a private communication system with the enchanter.”_

“Sweet, direct line,” Darcy giggled, as she moved to join Natasha.

“ _Am I needed on the field, my Darcy?”_

“Nope,” she popped, spinning the sword free of blood before sending it back to the astral backpack. The soldiers they’d been facing were laying down their weapons.

“We’re locked down out here.” Natasha's authority was unquestioned. And Tony would deal with the Scepter.


End file.
